George Joseph Morgan (24 March 1912 – 18 April 1979) was an Irish international rugby union player who represented Ireland on 19 occasions and was also a member of the

1938 British Lions tour to South Africa The 1938 British Isles tour to South Africa was the fourteenth tour by a British Isles team and the sixth to South Africa. The tour is retrospectively classed as one of the British Lions tours, as the Lions naming convention was not adopted unt ...

. At club level, he played for both

Clontarf RFC Clontarf Football Club is an Irish rugby union club based in Clontarf, Dublin and playing, as of 2018, in Division 1A of the All-Ireland League. History Having played firstly in a field at the bottom of Vernon Avenue, then on a site current ...

and

Old Belvedere RFC Old Belvedere R.F.C. is a senior Irish rugby union club based on Anglesea Road in Ballsbridge, Dublin, Ireland. Old Belvedere was originally founded in 1918–19 by former pupils of Belvedere College. Old Belvedere enters senior men's teams in the ...

, as well as playing at inter provincial level for

Leinster Rugby Leinster Rugby ( ga, Rugbaí Laighean) is one of the four professional provincial rugby union teams from the island of Ireland and the most successful Irish team domestically. They compete in the United Rugby Championship and the European Rugby ...

and guest appearances for the

Barbarians A barbarian (or savage) is someone who is perceived to be either uncivilized or primitive. The designation is usually applied as a generalization based on a popular stereotype; barbarians can be members of any nation judged by some to be less c ...

. He played in the scrum half position. __TOC__

Sporting history

Morgan was educated at

Belvedere College Belvedere College S.J. (sometimes St Francis Xavier's College) is a voluntary secondary school for boys in Dublin, Ireland. The school has numerous alumni in the arts, politics, sports, science, and business. History Belvedere owes its origin ...

in Dublin. At the age of just 13, he played on the Belvedere College Junior Cup winning team of 1925. He made his debut for Ireland against England on 10 February 1934 in Lansdowne Road. He scored a try in the first half, although Ireland lost 3-14. This was the first of his 18 consecutive caps in the Four Nations competition. His career was brought to a premature conclusion by the onset of World War II. He gained one additional cap playing against New Zealand on 7 December 1935. Ireland lost 9-17. He was appointed Irish captain for the 1936-1937 season and retained the honor for the following two seasons (apart from one match against Wales in 1938). In 1938, he was selected as one of eight Irishmen on the

. He was not selected for the first two tests against the Springboks but did play in the final test which the Lions won. He was also honored as Captain of the Lions in their winning match against North East Districts. At club level, he captained

to their first ever Leinster Senior Cup victory in 1936. When his school club Old Belvedere won senior status in 1937, George joined them and captained them to a first Leinster Senior Cup win in 1940. This was to be the first of seven consecutive Leinster Senior Cup wins for the Old Belvedere Club. He played on four occasions for the Barbarians F.C. between 1935 and 1937. As an administrator he was a member of the Irish Selectors from 1944 to 1947. He is one of few sportsmen to have played both rugby and cricket for Ireland. He played his cricket with

Clontarf Cricket Club Clontarf Cricket Club is a cricket club in Dublin, Ireland, playing in Division 1 of the Leinster Senior League. Based at Clontarf Cricket Club Ground, the club also has playing facilities in the grounds of Mount Temple Comprehensive School ...

and won an international cap when selected for 'The Gentlemen of Ireland' XI against the MCC in July 1934. He was also a very good golfer and a member of the Royal Dublin Golf Club. At his best he played off a 9 handicap.

Personal life

On leaving school, he joined the (then) Royal Bank of Ireland. He worked in Dublin at the Smithfield and O'Connell Street branches of the bank. He was later appointed manager of the Drumcondra Branch of The Royal Bank. His final appointment was as manager of the Talbot Street branch of AIB. In September 1939, George married Kay Conroy. They had five children and lived on Clontarf Road. He was elected president of the

from 1959 to 1961 and president of the Belvedere College Past Pupils Union in 1963-1964. He was also a trustee and honorary life member of the Old Belvedere Rugby Club.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Morgan, George J. Irish rugby union players Ireland international rugby union players British & Irish Lions rugby union players from Ireland Old Belvedere R.F.C. players People educated at Belvedere College Clontarf FC players Barbarian F.C. players Leinster Rugby players 1912 births 1979 deaths Rugby union players from Dublin (city) Cricketers from Dublin (city) Rugby union scrum-halves